Chapter Text
8 Months Post-Detonation
???
It was quiet. No, not just quiet. It was completely and utterly silent. If there was any sound to be had, it was entirely swallowed up by the emptiness of the void surrounding her.
Daisy stared blankly into the black nothingness, her body weightless as she seemed to float within a place of perpetual darkness. Despite the strange feeling it gave off, Daisy felt…nice, relaxed even. It was almost like a dream she wasn’t sure she’d ever want to wake up from.
Was this a dream? It had to be, right? It wouldn’t make sense if it wasn’t.
Daisy scanned through her memories, trying her best to remember how she got there. All she came back with, however, was a haze of blurry faces and flashing colors. Beyond that, there was nothing.
Who was she again?
An agent? Yeah, that’s right, she was an agent. An agent of what though? An agent of chaos?
No, that…that wasn’t entirely right. At least not anymore…
Daisy opened and closed her left hand experimentally, a spike of dull pain racing up her arm for a brief moment. She furrowed her eyebrows. That wasn’t normal. That, at least, she knew for certain.
She tried the same for her other hand, the pain this time making her teeth clench together tightly. Daisy couldn’t see her arms, the darkness wouldn’t allow it.
Where the hell was she?!
A quiet, relaxing place. A place without conflict. A place where Daisy could simply be at peace. A place without him.
Him? Who was him?
Him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him him!
Daisy shuttered involuntarily, unsure as to why. There was nothing that could hurt her here so why was she…?
A quiet voice interrupted Daisy’s thought process. It was muffled and incomprehensible to her ears, but somehow it made her feel calmer — soothing in a way that not many others could replicate. A soft pressure was applied to her hand.
Slowly, the black void surrounding Daisy began to dissipate. Bit by bit, her weightless body began to rise from the depths of nothingness she had found herself in. The voice was becoming progressively easier to understand, albeit still too far away for her to fully comprehend.
Despite not knowing who or what it was, she desperately wished to see the owner of the voice for herself. She was never really a fan of living in ignorance after all.
Daisy finally opened her eyes…
…and was immediately blinded by a harsh light trying to invade her incredibly sensitive pupils. She hissed in pain as she instantly squeezed her eyelids shut once again. Although, at this point, clarity was already starting to come back to her.
She remembered being captured. She remembered the look on Hive’s face as he stole away her blood. She remembered the pain of getting shot and the agony in her arms after she tried to take him down with her. She remembered…dying…
Wait? If she had been dying, then how was she…?
Letting out a small groan, Daisy attempted to blink open her eyes once more. Soon enough, the pain from the light above her subsided and Daisy was able to take a peek at her immediate surroundings.
Based on what she could see through her still somewhat hazy vision, Daisy herself was situated on a raised bed. The hospital gown she wore covered her upper body while her legs and stomach were hidden underneath a thin white sheet. Her arms lay on top of the bedding, both of which were heavily bandaged.
Moving her eyes away from her own body, Daisy studied the room. Given the tools and health monitors scattered throughout the immediate area, her best guess was a medical ward of some kind.
How in the hell did I get here?!
Scanning her eyes quickly across the rest of the room, Daisy froze as she spotted a familiar figure sleeping in a chair on her right. From the looks of it, Creel definitely seemed like he needed the rest.
Slowly turning her head, Daisy looked to her left. There, sitting by her bedside, gently holding her hand, and whispering to himself, was Robbie.
Daisy blinked slowly at her teammate for several long seconds. Looking down at their enclosed hands, she did her best to meet his grip. The intense fire of pain that followed was worth it if only to see Robbie’s head shoot up in surprise.
His eyes quickly roamed from their hands to Daisy’s weary but amused face. Robbie gaped at her. “Daisy?! You…you’re awake!”
A groan from the other end of the room indicated that Creel was also starting to wake up, likely as a result of Robbie’s sudden outburst. Smiling, Daisy tried to speak but was immediately interrupted by a harsh cough ripping its way through her incredibly dry throat.
“Shit!” Robbie cursed. “Here, let me get you some water.”
After taking a few light gulps from the cup of water Robbie held to her lips, Daisy cleared her throat and tried again. “Hey, Roberto. It’s, um, good to see you. What happened and uh…where exactly are we?”
“You’re in the Lighthouse, Daisy.”
Her eyes instantly shifted to the room’s entrance, a painfully familiar figure standing in the open door frame. Her lip quivered at the sight of her former S.O.’s stoic yet reassuring face. Daisy’s voice cracked as she looked upon the figure in disbelief.
“May…?”
The older agent walked forward to stand beside Daisy’s bed. May reached out slowly with her hand and Daisy’s mind inexplicably froze.
“S.H.I.E.L.D. is better off without you, Daisy. The world is better off without you!”
Daisy involuntarily flinched away from the outstretched limb, causing May to pull away with a concerned expression. She cursed herself internally and tried to push those memories of the fake May into the back of her head.
“Sorry,” Daisy said in an attempt to explain herself. “I, um, I-I just can’t believe it’s you!”
May frowned for a brief moment before allowing one of her rare smiles to overtake her features. “It is, Daisy. I’m here and so are the rest of us. We… I’m so sorry we couldn’t get to you sooner.”
“The rest of…” Daisy hastily cast another glance around the room. “Wait, the rest of the team is here?!”
She turned to Robbie, hoping that he’d know how to fill in the blanks. The Rider’s vessel sighed and began to explain the situation from his point of view — everything from Ash’s ploy to May’s arrival to finding Daisy alone surrounded by a giant pile of rubble.
“You were bleeding, Daisy,” Robbie stressed in a pained voice. “You were barely breathing! Agent May got the bullets out, but we still didn’t know if you were going to make it or not. You seriously scared us there, Quake…”
May nodded calmly alongside him, “We managed to get you to the Lighthouse in time for Simmons to look you over. She managed to get you stable using blood transfusions from Lincoln. You’ve been out for roughly three days.”
“That’s…” Daisy took a moment to process. “I…I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” Creel grunted from his seat. “You’re alive, Johnson, and that’s what matters. Where we go from here, that’s still something we’ll need to figure out.”
Leaning back in her bed, Daisy stared at the ceiling. She was alive, wasn’t she? Daisy had expected herself to die fighting Hive, but here she was with a second chance at life. Or was it a third chance? A fourth? Daisy kinda lost count of how many times she’d nearly died already.
Still somewhat stuck within her own head, Daisy’s eyes snapped to attention at the sound of the door opening once again to reveal yet another familiar face.
“Oh good, you’re awake!” Simmons smiled as she walked in. “You had us all worried there for a second.”
Creel snorted, “That’s one way to put it.”
Jemma hummed in acknowledgment as she came to stand by Daisy’s bedside, “We have a lot to talk about but first…do you mind if I hug you?”
Daisy blinked once and then twice in surprised silence before finally giving her friend a weak smile, “Yeah, that…that sounds pretty good right about now.”
Being ever so careful to avoid jostling Daisy’s arms and wounded shoulder, Jemma gently wrapped her arms around Daisy’s backside, providing only a faint squeeze before pulling away. The injured inhuman smiled softly before turning her eyes back to the open doorway.
“Where is everybody else?”
“We didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Simmons explained. “After your…ordeal…we thought it would be best to let you adjust first.”
Daisy nodded slowly, “Okay, I…guess I can see that. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I woke up and saw all of you in the room…”
I probably would’ve thought I was hallucinating again.
Quickly pushing the thought away, Daisy tried her best to meet Jemma’s eyes, “So doc, how bad is it?”
At that, Jemma’s smile seemed to dim. Stealing a quick glance at Daisy’s arms, the biochemist pulled a clipboard from a nearby table and nervously flipped through it.
“A-Ah, well, all told your condition could’ve been far worse. You’re alive for one thing, that’s good. You also showed no signs of infection and your bullet wounds seem to be scarring over nicely. That’s also good! Um…”
Deciding to bite the bullet, Daisy cleared her throat, “Jemma, please just…give it to me straight.”
Seeing the stoicism on her face, Simmons carefully placed the clipboard aside. Even then, she didn’t seem to be able to look into her friend’s eyes. “Daisy, I’m sorry. Your arms…they’re completely shattered. Even with all the regenerative pills in the world, your bones will never recover. I’m sorry…”
Daisy closed her eyes, taking a moment to breathe out through her nose. She had expected as much, but to hear Jemma’s diagnosis with her own two ears, it…it really did make it all feel real. Opening her eyes, she glanced down at her other limbs hidden beneath the covers, “And my legs?”
Simmons gave her a sympathetic look, “Those we have slightly better hopes for. We expect that with a year or two of treatment, your leg bones could eventually return to full functionality. Although, there might still be some long-term effects due to the damage.”
“I’m sorry, did you say one or two years?!” Robbie exclaimed.
Jemma shook her head, “The damage is incredibly severe. What I just told you is still fairly optimistic given all that I’ve seen. If you want me to be more realistic, it’s likely that Daisy will eventually walk again, yes, but it’s much less likely that she’ll ever be able to run, jump, or really do anything physically active. All of that goes double for her left leg and right thigh, given where she was shot.”
Reaffirming her attention back onto her patient, Jemma slowly took on a slightly more stern look, “I hope you understand, Daisy, but as your doctor and your friend, I hereby prohibit you from using your powers in any way, shape, or form. At this stage, if you use them to even the slightest degree, you could set your recovery back by months!”
Daisy slowly nodded her head, not trusting herself to really do anything else, “I…I understand. I promise not to use them under any circumstances.”
Absolutely useless now, aren’t you? Just a rotting bag of meat! What use are you to S.H.I.E.L.D. if you can’t fight? Useless!
Trying her absolute best to push the voices down, Daisy numbly leaned back into her pillow. She noticed the others watching her silently, likely anticipating some sort of secondary reaction. In truth, Daisy was still trying to process everything. She had been fully expecting to die. This? Even with her injuries, this was so much better than the alternative.
After several moments of pensive silence, May leaned forward into her vision, “Do you want me to go get the team, Daisy?”
Blinking her eyes a few times to get her bearings back, Daisy turned to May and nodded. “I…think I am? I could probably use the distraction.”
May nodded and gestured for Robbie and Creel to follow her out of the room and into the elevator, leaving Daisy and Simmons alone. As the door clicked shut behind them, the atmosphere shifted slightly. Daisy turned to Jemma, noticing her friend scanning Daisy’s face as if searching for the right words.
“There is one other thing I wanted to discuss,” Jemma began nervously. “I thought it would be best if I kept it private.”
Daisy felt a pit form in her stomach, “And, uh, what would that be?”
“While examining your body, I…I couldn’t help but notice the, um, scar you have on your wrist. Daisy, did you…?”
Daisy froze, her calm expression changing to panic in an instant. Her mind raced as she tried to think up some sort of excuse even though she knew doing so was likely pointless.
Jemma gently gripped her hand, “Daisy?”
“Please don’t tell Coulson!”
Daisy’s panic-filled eyes met Jemma’s with such ferocity that there was no longer any need to question the scar’s origins.
“Oh, Daisy…” Jemma said softly. “You know we’re here for you, right?”
Daisy nodded shakily, “I know, and you really don’t need to worry. I’m not in that headspace anymore. Well…mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“I…god I don’t want to make it sound like I’m crazy,” Daisy stressed as she pushed past the pain to tighten her grip on Jemma’s hand. “I’ve been hearing voices. They…they made me think things — pushed me to the brink.”
“May did state that Robbie mentioned something about voices,” Simmons replied thoughtfully. “What do they typically say?”
“Just…stuff,” Daisy murmured. “Hateful things people have said to me, my own self-doubts, reminding me of people who’ve died. I’ve learned to ignore them for the most part.”
“What about your team? Do they—?”
“Only Robbie and Creel know,” Daisy interjected. “They’ve…seen me at my lowest before and pulled me out of it. I trust them.”
Simmons muttered something quietly to herself that Daisy couldn’t quite make out. She then met her eyes and nodded, “I’ll keep this between us for now. But Daisy, please don’t keep us in the dark. If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”
Daisy smiled weakly, “Thanks, Simmons…Jemma. I appreciate that.”
“You’re my friend,” Jemma smiled. “I don’t think you realize just how much your absence impacted us. You should’ve seen Coulson, he… well he nearly lost himself trying to find you.”
Daisy found herself staring at Jemma silently. All this time, the voices had been telling her how worthless she was, how the team didn’t care about her in the slightest. The knowledge that Coulson was working so hard to find her this whole time? It seemed to dispel a good number of those lingering insecurities.
A knock came from the door. Looking up, Daisy watched as May, Robbie, and Creel quietly slipped back into the room. May stood by the entrance as her gaze met Daisy’s, her eyes stern but not unkind.
“The rest of the team is just outside the door. They’re ready whenever you are, Daisy.”
Robbie and Creel walked over to Daisy’s bedside on the opposite edge from Simmons. Robbie knelt down and gently placed a hand on her uninjured shoulder, “Take as much time as you need, Quake. We’ll be right with you, every step of the way.”
Daisy studied the closed door on the far side of the room. Just beyond that threshold were the people that had become her family, the people that had given Daisy a home. However, those were also the same people that Daisy had betrayed and hurt, multiple separate times at this point.
Coulson may have been searching for her, but did he really forgive her for what she did? Did anyone? Daisy wasn’t sure if she had even forgiven herself yet.
“I…I think I might be having second thoughts about this…” Daisy whispered as she stared down the door in front of her. “I-I don’t know what to say or what I should do and…”
“You’ll be fine, Daisy,” Robbie said, squeezing her shoulder with just a bit more pressure. “These people are your family, remember that.”
Creel leaned back against the wall, “Look, Johnson, you are so much stronger than when we first found you. If anyone can face your old team after all this time, it’s you.”
“It’ll be okay, Daisy,” Jemma said softly. “None of us blame you for what happened.”
“Hive brainwashed you,” May stated bluntly. “Don’t blame yourself for things he alone is responsible for.”
Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, Daisy nodded, “You’re right. I know you’re right. But, I…I still need time before I start believing that myself.” She sighed, “I think I’m ready now. Might as well open the floodgates.”
Meeting Daisy’s eyes one last time to check for confirmation, May turned and opened the door. Immediately, Daisy was met with the sight of several painfully familiar faces.
Coulson was the first to walk through the doorway, his steps hesitant as if he himself wasn’t sure if she was really there or not. He and Daisy locked eyes for a single second and that was all it took before he rushed forward and gently embraced her.
“Daisy, I’m so so sorry we left you behind,” Coulson stressed as he held her close. “It’s my fault this happened. I’m sorry!”
Daisy felt her throat closing up as she mumbled into Coulson’s shoulder, “Wasn’t your fault, AC. You made a call. I understand why I—”
“No!” Coulson fervently lamented. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that. Any of it! I’m so sorry, Daisy.”
“How…how did you find me?”
Daisy’s eyes burned with unshed tears as Coulson pulled away to look her in the face. After a few moments, he smiled. “We saw your message. I can’t even begin to express how proud I am of you!”
“It was incredibly brave, Daisy,” Lincoln stated as he walked in behind Coulson and took her hand. “You have no idea how relieved we were just to see your face. Your message? That was simply the cherry on the cake.”
“So…it worked?”
“More than you know, Daisy,” May said from the corner as she looked at her meaningfully. “Your message didn’t just work, it ignited a fire under Hive’s ass that’s not about to go out anytime soon. You made yourself the symbol of a global uprising.”
Robbie squeezed her hand wordlessly as Daisy blinked in shock at the revelation. That was…well it was exactly what she had hoped would happen. Getting confirmation that the plan had actually worked? Knowing was a whole lot more different than simply hoping. In any case, Daisy didn’t get much time to continue thinking about it as more and more familiar faces surrounded her.
One by one, the rest of the team trickled into the room — Fitz, Mack, Yo-Yo, Piper, Davis, hell, even Talbot decided to show up. Although, the former general looked like he was primarily there to talk to Creel than anything else. The rest of the Secret Warriors — Alec, April, and Katie — soon followed in after them.
At that, Daisy finally allowed tears to begin rolling down the sides of her face. This was really happening, wasn’t it? They were real. All of them were real! This wasn’t a trick. This wasn’t just a hallucination.
Her family was here alongside the Secret Warriors. Daisy wasn’t alone.
Never again, Daisy decided as she cried openly at the sheer joy she felt at the sight of them. Never ever again.
As the tearful reunion continued, Jemma decided it was best if she slipped out of the room to give Daisy more time with the others. Jemma herself also found that she needed some time to process everything she’d learned.
As she walked through the corridors of the medical wing, Jemma pondered Daisy’s condition. Was there anything she could've done differently to help her friend recover? Jemma was smart, but she wasn’t a miracle doctor. Maybe a new pair of gauntlets could help? She’d have to consult Fitz and maybe Mr. Stark if he was open to the idea.
Mentally, Daisy seemed…not terribly different from how she remembered her. Jemma noticed that the injured inhuman was quite a bit more jumpy than she used to be, a bit more unsure of herself. When Daisy talked about the voices, it was with a mix of fear, annoyance, and resignation. Jemma was glad Daisy appeared to be doing better, but it was clear the voices had taken their toll on her psyche.
It lifted her spirits to know that Daisy had found others like Robbie and Creel to help her through it while she was separated from the team. Seeing that scar on Daisy’s wrist? It had frightened her more than she’d care to admit. It was clear that Daisy needed support and Jemma was determined to make sure she had it.
Sighing, Jemma looked up as she rounded the corner only to step back slightly in surprise as she came face-to-face with Holden Radcliffe. She quickly straightened her posture. “Oh hello, Dr. Radcliffe, did you need something?”
Radcliffe wrung his hands together as he looked back at her nervously. After several seconds of thinking, the former transhumanist finally seemed to muster up the courage to speak his mind.
“I looked at your prognosis for Agent Johnson.”
Jemma raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued as to where exactly he was going with this, “It’s quite unfortunate, yes. What of it?”
Radcliffe looked around carefully before leaning in close to her ear. “I…I think I might have some ideas…”